CarefulBuilder14 wrote:When did you apply for the PRG? And the Green? I think the PRG is just as easy to get - it's just a tradeoff of fees and rewards/benefits. The fact that you got declined for the PRG but approved for the Green says more about your credit history developing a bit more than it does about lower credit standards for the Green vs. PRG.

Apped for the PRG back in June and that was the month I got in with them. I actually applied a few weeks after I was approved for the Delta card and I think that had a lot to do with it. Trying to remember my denial reasons but I'll check to see what it said to be sure.

I wasn't really sure back then about whether apping for two cards in one day from Amex would actually work and that was also why I got so hesitant that I ended up cancelling the ED card app I submitted on the same day that I got approved for the Delta card.

popamode72 wrote:Apped for the PRG back in June and that was the month I got in with them. I actually applied a few weeks after I was approved for the Delta card and I think that had a lot to do with it. Trying to remember my denial reasons but I'll check to see what it said to be sure.

I wasn't really sure back then about whether apping for two cards in one day from Amex would actually work and that was also why I got so hesitant that I ended up cancelling the ED card app I submitted on the same day that I got approved for the Delta card.

So since June, you've apped for ED twice, Green once, PRG once, and Delta Gold once? Five apps with one issuer? It seems overkill...

Wallet: Prestige CSP SchwabPlat Freedom It Hyatt SallieMae AAPlatSD: Arrival BrooksBros BCE ED IHGLetting new accounts cool off since MayReally not sure what I'll add next or when

Would have definitely done it differently in hindsight knowing what I know now especially reading this forum a lot lately and had a much better plan beforehand of what I wanted and you're completely right. I was just so happy to have gotten my foot in the door in the first place and out of every lender I've done business with, they really seem to have gone the extra mile the most. The Green and Delta ones were instant approvals and the ED one was the one I waited a couple of days to get a word on.

Well, you've got the ED which you can later upgrade to the EDP. I'd close the Green but you can take a few months to figure out whether you want an NPSL card or not. I liked my PRG signup bonus but it would have been easier to go right for BCE and then gotten the PRG on the same pull if I was declined.

I'm warming up to the idea of cards with annual fees that also have no-AF versions (EDP has ED, Arrival+ has Arrival, etc.) Then an issuer can't take my AAoA 'hostage' since I can downgrade the card without closing it.

Wallet: Prestige CSP SchwabPlat Freedom It Hyatt SallieMae AAPlatSD: Arrival BrooksBros BCE ED IHGLetting new accounts cool off since MayReally not sure what I'll add next or when

I think another reason why I wanted to experience using a charge card was because I wanted to have something where I could pay big bills without that being an issue on my utilization and having that kind of card as an emergency for the most part. I tend to be pretty obsessed when it comes to keeping my utilization as low as possible but I guess now that I have a big limit Chase card, I can just use that instead for that purpose and have that also be accepted by more merchants online.

I didn't even think I was gonna try the ED card again at the time I did the Green app but thought to myself afterwards that I might as well try to see if I could get the card I had wanted the most with Amex initially in the first place with one HP and surprised myself entirely. Do you think it's possible to have a lot of my Delta card limit moved over to that ED so I can eventually close that card?

Just talked to a rep online about moving my Delta card limit over to the ED and he said it's completely possible to have it entirely moved over as long as I'm intending on closing that card and there's no balance on it. I had been a little bit confused on that because I was told before that I'd have to leave a portion of the limit of the other card intact but the person said that's if I were to want to keep it still. I'd end up with a 6.3K limit card if I were to do this and it's sounding like a great option too.

popamode72 wrote:Just talked to a rep online about moving my Delta card limit over to the ED and he said it's completely possible to have it entirely moved over as long as I'm intending on closing that card and there's no balance on it. I had been a little bit confused on that because I was told before that I'd have to leave a portion of the limit of the other card intact but the person said that's if I were to want to keep it still. I'd end up with a 6.3K limit card if I were to do this and it's sounding like a great option too.

11 cards is a lot for a college student, at least in my mind. I suppose only 3 have annual fees unless any are secured. Closing a few might make things simpler, but there is the unpleasant fact that if you closed a bunch of them (or had the issuer close them for lack of use), your AAoA would really be hit hard for a few years while a bunch of cards opened less than a year held your average age down until 2021. Perhaps keeping the store cards open and using them now and then is best.

Wallet: Prestige CSP SchwabPlat Freedom It Hyatt SallieMae AAPlatSD: Arrival BrooksBros BCE ED IHGLetting new accounts cool off since MayReally not sure what I'll add next or when

CarefulBuilder14 wrote:11 cards is a lot for a college student, at least in my mind. I suppose only 3 have annual fees unless any are secured. Closing a few might make things simpler, but there is the unpleasant fact that if you closed a bunch of them (or had the issuer close them for lack of use), your AAoA would really be hit hard for a few years while a bunch of cards opened less than a year held your average age down until 2021. Perhaps keeping the store cards open and using them now and then is best.

That MyFico app spree mentality really influenced me a lot earlier on and reading this website really made me realize that less can be a lot more. Not really proud to admit that at all and there was just such a thrill in when I got my second approval for a card after 6 months of using the Forward card that I just took a chance and see if I could get more approvals. Hell, the Wells Fargo college card was something I had always wanted at one point.

I love MemberSince99's approach at getting rid of cards that one doesn't need anymore, even those without AFs. Kind of a mixed blessing that I ever found that website in the first place. And I have no intentions of closing any of the remaining store cards I have now and have done what you said in using them now and then and have kind of changed my mind on closing the Wells Fargo college card as well for that reason. After I closed some cards, I noticed that my TU FICO dropped like 10 points as a result so I'm now much more aware of the importance of AAoA than I was many months ago.

Well, with low balances, having a somewhat higher utilization might not have hurt that much. Although I'm not sure how closing a card would hurt your AAoA in the short run - after all, you're not changing your current AAoA, you're just preventing it from growing at the same rate that time passes.

For example, if I closed my PRG today, my AAoA would not fall. It would simply increase at 80% of the 'background' rate of time since 4 cards would be growing while 1 card would be dead. So, in five months, my AAoA would have only risen 4 months. But it wouldn't lower today's AAoA, just maybe the AAoOA (for anyone following along, I didn't stub my toe - just add the word 'Open' there).

So I don't see how closing an account could immediately drop your FICO unless it was from utilization. It would simply slow the rate at which your FICO would improve.

I will say it is nice to not have any card with a limit under $2k. I'd have to pay a $500 charge off pretty quickly, but small everyday charges don't sneak up on me and eat up half the limit.

Wallet: Prestige CSP SchwabPlat Freedom It Hyatt SallieMae AAPlatSD: Arrival BrooksBros BCE ED IHGLetting new accounts cool off since MayReally not sure what I'll add next or when

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